Hamilton (album)
Album of the stage musical Hamilton
Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording) Released September 25, 2015 (2015-09-25 ) Recorded August 16–21, 2015 Studio
Avatar , New York City
Invictus Sound, Long Island, NYC
Genre Length 142 :13 Label Atlantic Producer
Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording) is the cast album to the 2015 musical Hamilton . The musical is based on the 2004 biography of Alexander Hamilton written by Ron Chernow , with music, lyrics, and book by Lin-Manuel Miranda . The recording stars Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr. , Phillipa Soo , Renée Elise Goldsberry , Christopher Jackson , Daveed Diggs , Anthony Ramos , Okieriete Onaodowan , Jasmine Cephas Jones , and Jonathan Groff . The ensemble features Jon Rua , Thayne Jasperson, Sydney James Harcourt, Ephraim Sykes , Ariana DeBose , and Sasha Hutchings . The musicians on the album are Alex Lacamoire , Kurt Crowley, Andres Forero, Robin Macatangay, Richard Hammond, Benny Reiner, Jonathan Dinklage, Erin Benim Mayland, Anja Wood, Mario Gotoh, and Laura Sherman. It achieved the largest first week sales for a digital cast album and is the highest-charting cast album since 1963.[ 1] It was the highest-selling Broadway cast album of 2015 and peaked at number one on the Rap Albums chart, the first cast album to ever do so.[ 2] After being certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2023, Hamilton became the best-selling cast album of all time. It is also considered one of the best ever musicals.
The cast album for the musical premiered in September 2015 on NPR 's website.[ 3] Its digital release on September 25, 2015, debuted on numerous charts and was released in stores as a two-disc set on October 16, 2015. It debuted at number one on the Top Broadway Albums chart, as well as number 3 on Top Rap Albums .[ 1] Hamilton's debut was the second-biggest first week sales of a Broadway cast album, just behind the cast album for the musical Rent . It debuted at number 12 on the overall Billboard 200 chart for sales, with over 2.1 million streams combined from digital service providers, the largest streaming debut for a cast album ever.[ 1] Following the 70th Tony Awards in 2016, the album re-peaked at number 3 on the Billboard 200 chart, making it one of only three cast recordings to reach the top 10 in the last 50 years.[ 4] The album reached a new peak of number two in July 2020, following the release of the live stage film of the Broadway production on July 3, 2020. This made Hamilton the highest charting cast album since Hair in 1969. This peak also came on the album's 250th consecutive week on the Billboard 200.[ 5]
The album was the highest-selling Broadway cast album of 2015 and peaked at number one on the Top Rap Albums chart, the first cast album to ever do so.[ 2] It achieved the largest first week sales for a digital cast album and was the highest-charting cast album debut since 1963.[ 1] It sold 169,000 copies in 2015, and a further 739,000 copies in 2016, making it the fifth best-selling album of 2016.[ 6] It was certified 6x Multiplatinum by the RIAA on April 4, 2019, making it the best-selling cast recording of all time.[ 7] That record was extended when the album was certified 7× platinum on September 16, 2020.[ 7] As of July 2020 the album has sold 1.97 million pure copies.[ 5] On June 26, 2023, it became the first cast album to receive a Diamond certification.[ 8]
Critical reception
Hamilton was met with critical acclaim. Billboard called the album an "eye-popping debut", giving it a 5-out-of-5 star review and listing it at number 2 on the magazine's 50 Best Albums of 2015.[ 11] Rolling Stone gave it a 4.5-out-of-5 star rating, listing it at number 8 on the magazine's Top 50 Albums of 2015.[ 13] [ 15] Robert Christgau wrote in Vice , "I can attest that the intrinsic intellectual interest [Lin-Manuel Miranda ] powers up here is so impressive it's exciting".[ 14]
Track listing
Interpolations
"My Shot" contains elements of "Shook Ones Pt. II " written by Albert Johnson and Kejuan Waliek Muchita ; "Going Back to Cali " written by Osteen Harvey Jr. , Roger Troutman and Christopher Wallace ; and "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught " from South Pacific , music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II .
"Right Hand Man" contains elements of "The Modern Major General " from The Pirates of Penzance written by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan .
"Ten Duel Commandments" contains elements of "Ten Crack Commandments " written by Christopher E. Martin , Christopher Wallace , and Khary Kimani Turner.
"Meet Me Inside" contains elements of "Party Up (Up in Here) " written by Kasseem Dean and Earl Simmons .
"Cabinet Battle #1" contains elements of "The Message " written by Clifton Nathaniel Chase , Edward G. Fletcher , Melvin Glover , and Sylvia Robinson .
"Say No to This" contains elements of "Nobody Needs to Know" from The Last Five Years , music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown .
"Cabinet Battle #2" contains elements of "Juicy (It's All Good) " written by Sean Combs , James Mtume , Jean-Claude Olivier , and Wallace.
"Blow Us All Away" contains elements of "Ten Crack Commandments" written by Martin, Wallace, and Turner; and "Shook Ones Pt. II" written by Johnson and Muchita.
"The World Was Wide Enough" contains elements of "Ten Crack Commandments" written by Martin, Wallace, and Turner.
Notes
Lin-Manuel Miranda made a conscious decision to exclude one scene in the performance from the cast album, "Tomorrow There'll Be More of Us", also known as Laurens' Interlude.[ 16]
Personnel
Cast
Ensemble vocals
Production
Alex Lacamoire – production, orchestrations
Bill Sherman – production
Lin-Manuel Miranda – production, executive production
Ahmir Thompson & Tariq Trotter for the Roots – production, executive production
Craig Kallman – associate production
Riggs Morales – associate production
Sean Patrick Flahaven – associate production
Thomas Kail – associate production
Tyler Hartman – assistant engineering
Ron Robinson – assistant engineering
Ebonie Smith – assistant engineering
Tom Coyne – mastering
Michael Keller – music coordination
Michael Aarons – music coordination
Randy Cohen – synthesizer and drum programming
Nevin Steinberg – Broadway sound effects
Scott Wasserman – Ableton programming
Taylor Williams – associate synthesizer programming
Jeremy King – assistant synthesizer programming
Will Wells – drum samples and additional loop editing
Tim Latham – mixing
Derik Lee – recording
Emily Grishman – music copying
Katharine Edmonds – music copying
Musicians
Alex Lacamoire – conducting, keyboard 1
Kurt Crowley – keyboard 2, associate music direction
Jonathan Dinklage – concertmaster
Erin Benim Mayland – violin
Mario Gotoh – viola, violin
Anja Wood – cello
Andres Forero – drums
Benny Reiner – percussion, keyboard
Richard Hammond – bass, keyboard
Robin Macatangay – guitars, banjos
Additional musicians for recording
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
Certifications
Song certifications
Awards
References
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^ a b Estevez, Marjua (November 18, 2015). "Hamilton Broadway Album Tops Billboard Rap Chart" . Vibe . Archived from the original on January 23, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2016 .
^ Jekket, Frannie (September 21, 2015). "Review: Cast Recording, 'Hamilton' " . NPR Music . Archived from the original on January 20, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2016 .
^ Caulfield, Keith (June 19, 2016). " 'Hamilton' Cast Album Races to No. 3 on Billboard 200 Chart After Tony Awards" . Billboard . Archived from the original on June 21, 2016. Retrieved June 19, 2016 .
^ a b Caulfield, Keith (July 12, 2020). "Pop Smoke's 'Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon' Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart" . Billboard . Retrieved July 19, 2020 .
^ Caulfield, Keith (February 15, 2018). " 'Hamilton' Surpasses Jersey Boys' " . Billboard . Retrieved June 2, 2018 .
^ a b c "American album certifications – Various Artists – Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording)" . Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved June 23, 2023 .
^ Culwell, Logan (June 26, 2023). "Hamilton Broadway Album 1st Cast Recording to Be Certified Diamond by RIAA" . Playbill . Retrieved October 1, 2023 .
^ "Hamilton: An American Musical [Original Broadway Cast Recording] by Lin-Manuel Miranda" . Metacritic . Retrieved May 25, 2019 .
^ Donelson, Marcy. "Hamilton: An American Musical [Original Broadway Cast Recording] – Lin-Manuel Miranda" . AllMusic . Retrieved March 30, 2018 .
^ a b Gale, Alex (October 1, 2015). "Hamilton, the Best Broadway Musical Ever, Boasts an Equally Thrilling Cast Recording: Album Review" . Billboard . Archived from the original on January 20, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2016 .
^ Delerme, Felipe (October 2, 2015). "Various Artists: Hamilton: Original Broadway Cast Recording" . Pitchfork . Archived from the original on February 17, 2016. Retrieved June 25, 2016 .
^ a b Spanos, Brittany (September 25, 2015). "Hamilton: Original Broadway Cast Recording" . Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on January 25, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2016 .
^ a b Christgau, Robert (February 19, 2016). "Poets, Playwrights, and Pranksters: Expert Witness with Robert Christgau" . Vice . Archived from the original on February 22, 2016. Retrieved February 22, 2016 .
^ "Rolling Stone's Top 50 Albums of 2015" . BrooklynVegan . December 1, 2015. Archived from the original on January 18, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2016 .
^ Miranda, Lin-Manuel. "COMPLETISTS ONLY (Spoilers)" . Lin-Manuel Miranda's Official Tumblr . Retrieved June 19, 2016 .
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^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar "American single certifications – Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton" . Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved October 18, 2019 .
^ "British certifications – Aaron Burr Sir" . British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved June 2, 2023 .
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "British single certifications – Hamilton" . British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved June 2, 2023 . Select singles in the Format field. Type Hamilton in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
^ "British certifications – Non-Stop" . British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved June 2, 2023 .
^ Ward, Marguerite (December 22, 2015). "Hamilton Fan Art: Animation Student Beautifully Recreates Scenes from Lin-Manuel Miranda's Broadway Smash Hit" . International Business Times . Archived from the original on December 25, 2015. Retrieved January 20, 2016 .
^ "Creed Tops 47th Annual NAACP Image Award Nominations" . Ebony. February 5, 2016. Archived from the original on August 7, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2016 .
^ "2017 BBMAs Announce Non-Televised Award Recipients" . Billboard Music Awards . May 21, 2017. Archived from the original on June 5, 2017. Retrieved May 22, 2017 .
External links
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